Fionnuala Bailey Fashion Portfolio
Contents Page Fionnuala Bailey Portfolio………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 Career Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...5 Brand Manager Overview………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 What the work is like……………………………………………………………………………………………..6 Skills and personal qualities…………………………………………………………………………………..9 The Comparisons………………………………………………………………………………………………….10 Mary Portas Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13 Her Story…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13 Luxury Branding The purpose of luxury fashion within today’s society………………………………………………15 How luxury has changed………………………………………………………………………………………18 Practitioner review – How luxury fashion has changed………………………………………….22 The purpose of counterfeit fashion in today’s society………………………………………………25 Fionnuala Bailey Skills Mapping……………………………………………………………………………………………………..29 Communication skills……………………………………………………………………………………………29 Group Work skills………………………………………………………………………………………………..29 Self-Management skills…………………………………………………………………………………………3o Flexibility and Responsiveness skills……………………………………………………………………..30 Organising and Managing skills……………………………………………………………………………31 Leadership and Influence skills……………………………………………………………………………..31 Inspirational Quotes………………………………………………………………………………………….…32 Fionnuala Bailey Keith Mitchel Collaboration………………………………………………………………………………….35 www.fionnualabailey.co.uk..............................................................................................36 References………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..37
Fionnuala Bailey Fashion Marketing (BA)
Fashion Portfolio Which aspects of fashion marketing are you passionate about? Marketing and Management with the capability of establish a strong business and brand presence. What would you like your future career direction to be once you graduate? Marketing and Brand Management What do you feel you are really good at?
Communication skills – professional, articulate and persuasive Providing Support and empathy Taking on Responsibility Motiving myself and others Effectively working with different groups of people Adaptability to different environments
What experience do you already have? 4 years retail experience (Marks and Spencer and Next) Learning Support Assistant – Main stream and Special Needs Students What would you like to learn more about/experience? More hands on experience within marketing Is there anything else you think I should know about you? I am a confident and committed to every aspect of my career with a strong passion to work and manger a brand. I am prepared and willing to work in every aspect of a business so that I am able to successful understand the role of every employee providing insight and understanding to future of my management career
Fionnuala Bailey Portfolio
Introduction This portfolio will focus on brand management with an in-depth discussion on the purpose of luxury fashion for the 21st century consumer and the increasing consumption of counterfeit fashion. Mood boards have been created to show how a brand image can change over seasons and or even change due to negative brand associations. Fashion can be viewed as planned obsolescence with new styles entering the retail stores as fast as other week motivating consumers to continuously purchase new clothing (Josiam et al 2005). Marketers have identified how possessions are part of the social communication systems; consumers build their social image around a selection of products which hold a symbol in which they wish to reflect (Davis 1986). Fashion has become increasingly important in today’s society; young consumers have the courage, motivation and interest to try new innovations (Workman and Kidd 2000), creating a higher drive for consumption with many aspirations based on materialistic views (Perez et al 2010). The recessions has created an increased hierarchy scale of social acceptance, with consumers willing to offer high amounts of money for luxury products (Husic and Cicic 2008). However, it is this hierarchy scales which has impacted the rise of counterfeit fashion. Understanding why consumers purchase counterfeit fashion is important as it is not only a criminal offence but a leading factor for the destruction of a brand image leading to many companies losing out on millions of pounds every year. Many luxury brands are now creating sub-brands, with highstreet stores leading to a democratization of luxury fashion (Kapferer and Bastien 2009). The use of the internet in today’s society has increased the democratization of fashion, highlighting a change in the behaviour and values of the 21st century consumer (Huang et al 2011, Kapferer and Bastien 2009). The internet allows consumers to search for luxury brands, which may not be in their price range, at a discounted price whether it be designer collections for the highstreet or from discounted sellers. In the short this means new luxury is no longer intended for the elite, but everyone who wishes to obtain it (Eisend and Schuchert-Guler 2006). In the end will it be this democratisation of luxury that destroys brand reputation?
Fionnuala Bailey Future Brand Manager
Career Plan
Brand Manager Job Description
Overview Identity is important for any product in today's competitive marketplace. Brand managers are concerned with creating a lasting impression among consumers and improving product sales and market share. Brand mangers work closely with a cross section of teams, including product developers, researchers, marketing personnel and creative agencies to make sure their company brand values and image are followed.
What the work is like Identity is important for any product in today's competitive marketplace. Brand managers are concerned with creating a lasting impression among consumers and improving product sales and market share. This is achieved by making sure their organisation's advertising and marketing activities send out the right image. Brand managers are often overseeing the entire creative process for a single product, or group of products and services. With a research focus on consumer markets, monitoring market trends and identifying potential areas in which to invest, based upon consumer needs and spending habits
Brand Manager The Necessities
Skills and personal qualities A brand manager should: have an instinctive feeling about future product concepts have good analytical skills be a good listener, able to respond to results and consumer research be an excellent communicator, both verbally and in writing be enthusiastic about their product area. A brand manager should: have an instinctive feeling about future product concepts have good analytical skills be a good listener, able to respond to results and consumer research be an excellent communicator, both verbally and in writing be able to manage different projects at the same time be energetic and passionate about their product speciality be organised and methodical be able to work well under pressure good presentation skills. A brand manager should: be interested in what competitors are doing enjoy working in a busy, deadline-driven, creative environment enjoy working in product management.
Fionnuala Bailey The Brand Manager
The Comparisons Fionnuala Bailey shows: An understanding for future trends Has strong analytical skills An ability to carry out consumer and market research Enthusiasm for branding of all merchandise Fionnuala Bailey is: Interested in the competitor marketing and development work driven and works will in a busy and creative environment is able to confidently manage a group of people of collection of products Fionnuala Bailey has: The ability to notice future trends Excellent communication skills with the ability to respond to consumers The confidence to work well with a large range of people The experience of inspiring others Shown the dedication to manage different work commitments A passionate and committed personality to any part of her career Developed strong presentation skills The drive to work well under pressure An organised and methodical approach to work
Mary Portas The Inspiration
Overview Retail expert Mary Portas is probably the UK’s foremost authority on retail and brand communication. As founder of one of London’s most respected retail & brand communication agencies, Yellowdoor, Mary is recognised throughout the trade as the Queen of Shops.
Her Story Mary began her retail career as a Saturday girl in John Lewis, later becoming visual merchandiser for Harrods then moving to Topshop. Mary joined Harvey Nichols in 1989 and has been credited for transforming the brand into the world renowned store. Mary launched Yellowdoor when she saw a need for integrated and creative brand communication in the retail, fashion, luxury and beauty sectors. Yellowdoor has created campaigns for a wide range of brands on the high street including Clarks, Louis Vuitton, Oasis, Swarovski, Dunhill, Boden, Thomas Pink, Westfield London, and Patek Philippe. In spring 2009, Mary focused on two main economic trends - finical and environmental – creating the series Mary Queen of Charity Shops. Mary has since become the Global Retail Ambassador for Save the Children and has pioneered a
new type of charity shopping with her ‘Living & Giving’ concept – recently opening her third permanent Living & Giving Shop in London’s Primrose Hill. May 2011, Mary was commissioned by the Prime Minister David Cameron to lead an independent review into the Future of the High Street. She delivered the report in December 2011, outlining 28 recommendations for rescuing the nation’s failing High Streets. Government is due to respond in spring 2012, but have already announced that 12 towns will have the opportunity to become Portas Pilots. Mary opened her own shop and launched her own clothing, footwear, and accessories collection in August 2011. The collections received critical acclaim, and the process was featured in an observational documentary on Channel 4, called Mary Queen of Frocks. In March 2012, Mary launched Mary’s bottom line through Channel 4. Mary wants to energise and UK clothing industry by bringing clothing production back to the UK to help the economic state of the country and providing jobs for the younger generation. Mary has stated by producing her own line of 100% British Knickers. Marys brand is called Kinky Knickers and will be sold in leading department stores such as Selfridges, John Lewis and Asos. Mary Portas have developed an exceptionally strong and driven career through her determination and natural talent something which is inspiring to all young up and coming brand mangers. Mary demonstrates that there is more to life then ‘frocks’, the economic environment of the country and helping children and youths find either work or funding through charities is something which is close to Mary’s heart. This has given me the assurance that I to can pursue a career in branding and marketing whilst supporting children which need extra help both of which are extremely important to me and have made me the person I am today.
Luxury Branding The development of luxury fashion
The purpose of luxury fashion within today’s society Luxury is defined as exclusive, a cult by definition which has a large following (Chadha and Husband, 2006). Luxury brands evoke exclusivity, holding a well known identity, which have high brand awareness and the perception of quality, where consumers establish high levels of loyalty (Phau and Prendergast 2001). Twitchell (2001) states that true luxury does not exist like it used to as ‘real’ luxury should be for the ‘happy few’ not everyone in society as consumers of all economic levels can purchase luxury fashion whether it be genuine or counterfeit, the social perception still holds the same value. It is suggested that luxury fashion is regarded as possessing a symbolic function which works on both a social and personal level (Fionda and Moore 2009). For luxury fashion the perception of symbolic value is based on the products authenticity which is often linked to heritage and tradition (Beverland 2006) something which counterfeit fashion does not hold. Brown et al (2003) believes authenticity comes from an individuals own interpretation which is influenced by an individuals experience as well as their environment. These meanings are dependent upon the consumer’s interpretation. Luxury evokes different meanings throughout the global market, for example the revitalisation of Burberry came through its success in Asia (Kapferer and Bastien 2011). To date research has shown that for some Burberry will be seen as prestigious for others it can be perceived as brash and uncouth. This is due to the fact that print has been over used through counterfeiting and the brand itself selling the design on to other
brands, and this has effected the overall perception of the brand (Moore and Birtwistle 2005). Perceived uniqueness is thought to be one aspect of luxury which is sought after by consumers and this perceived uniqueness is based on the rarity and scarcity of the product (Turunen and Laaksonen 2011).
How luxury has changed Many luxury brands are now adopting the behaviours of highstreet brands (Kapferer and Bastien 2011) with designers collaborating with the highstreet creating and overlap, which introduces a premium brand. There is no longer an absolute distinction between premium and luxury products within the perception of the consumers (Kapferer and Bastien 2011); this is known as the democratisation of luxury (Smith 2007, Twitchell 2001). The coming together of luxury and highstreet has led to the opening of the luxury market to the masses, delivering the “inaccessible as accessible” (Vigneron and Johnson 2004). The social visibility and awareness of luxury has amplified due to the increased number of luxury brands that are available and the larger levels of advertising which is being carried out by the brands. The establishment of “luxury” is now one which holds contradictory values (Vigneron and Johnson 2004). At first its portrayal is one which brings aspiration and desire through the specialist stores, the second is the standardization of luxury, selling merchandise through large distributions, demystifying its exclusivity (Aage and Belussi 2008).
The use of the internet in today’s society has increased the democratization of fashion, highlighting a change in the behaviour and values of the 21st century consumer (Kapferer and Bastien 2011, Huang et al 2011, Abbasi et al 2011). For instance the internet allows consumers to search for luxury brands, which may not be in their price range, at a discounted price. In the short this means new luxury is no longer intended for the elite, but everyone who wishes to obtain it (Vigneron and Johnson 2004). There is no longer one luxury, but many luxuries, the inaccessible luxury, the limited editions luxury and the highstreet luxury (Aage and Belussi 2008). Vigneron and Johnson (2004) argue that the social and psychological symbols of luxury products are crucial characteristics which separate them from highstreet brands. However this perception is subjective and can be evaluated in more detail by consumers which categorise them into separate subgroups. Kapferer (2008) describes the luxury market as a pyramid which is divided into sections, the luxury brand, the high level brand and the brand. Kapferer (2008) stated that the highest level of luxury is regarded as pure and unique, it is a “quiet luxury” which does not use noticeable logos and prints and only a true luxury expert would recognise the product as luxury. Taking this into account hand-made suits on Savile Row hold more prestige then brands like Louis Vuitton which he believed fell into the second section of “loud Luxury”. Fashion designer James Long (2009) was quoted saying “Luxury is a high end product, high specification, considered design detail, luxury fabric. Louis Vuitton is plastic with a leather finish, it is seen as luxury however you can get a higher finish from a lesser known brand for cheaper, it is all how it is marketed. They can create a feeling of luxury, you are buying into the lifestyle like the Victoria Beckham brand; she has a luxury lifestyle so you think her brand is luxury, while others you buy into the heritage like Savile Row – this is real luxury.”
Practitioner review – How luxury fashion has changed “There is a democratization of design not just fashion and it is a challenge for designers to constantly be creative but also worry about the reality of that creativity” – Vera Wang. Wang went on to say “today when the internet connects so many people fashion information and styling information can go around the world in a manor of seconds, seeing a show is as easy as visiting Youtube, and knock offs of clothes from the runaways can be quickly put into production”. Designers believe that the internet is one of the growing causes for the demand of counterfeit fashion. From Turunen and Laaksonen (2011) study, they found that consumers of counterfeit fashion are not willing to pay the price of luxury so they convince themselves that they can gain the same benefits from buying a counterfeit, is this equal for designer and high street collaborations? Designer brands are collaborating with highstreet stores to widen their brand awareness and to create alternative revenue in economic down fall. Increasing the awareness of a brand will expand desire amongst all – increasing the demand for counterfeits amongst the lower class (Bartels 2009). Some loyal customers of designer fashion are now calling their beloved high end designers “sell outs” claiming they are cashing in by watering down their creations for mass production. The world around us is changing rapidly and I find myself asking these questions more and more”. Lanvin sold out in hours - items starting at £99.99 to £149.99 with pieces ending up on eBay for triple the price, similar pricing to an actual piece of Lanvin. Herein lays the dilemma, consumers who desire to purchase Lanvin still are unable to purchase the products when they are made main stream so the drive for counterfeit continues to rise.
Many designers are have creating collaborations with highstreet brands - Giles Deacon and New Look, Christopher Kane and Topshop, Lavin for H&M are to name a few. Controversially Antonio Berardi states “I’ve been asked many times to do things that were ‘mass’. But if you could buy Berardi on the high street then you wouldn’t want to buy Berardi”. This could be on the of the leading reasons to why “quiet luxuries” are less counterfeited as they designers go to any lengths to keep their brand exclusive for its consumers who are dedicated to purchasing their designs. Vera Wang believes the world is now a smaller place and all of the differences are becoming less and less noticeable, and it’s a challenged faced by all of us to become unique. We are going to face period of inflation, inflation is something in which we will have to relearn. Consumers may not purchase counterfeits once the economic level of the country is raised. Donatella Versace perceived shoppers do not just want the designer name on their clothes; they want to dress like celebrities that they have seen were the designer clothes, something which will never change in today’s materialistic society. However, Versace has now created collaborations for H&M, watering down the brand values and image.
The purpose of counterfeit fashion in today’s society Counterfeit products are those which show a trademark which is identical or indistinguishable from a registered trademarked party (Eisend and SchuchertGuler 2006; Chaudhry and Walsh 1996; Kapferer 2008). Past research has suggested that one third of consumers will purchase counterfeit goods (Phau and Prendergast 2001).
The intentional purchase of counterfeit fashion is a type of human misbehaviour deviating from the social norms of society. Counterfeiting is not a new phenomenon however there has been a widespread increase in the last two decades which is set to continue (Eisend and Schuchert-Guler 2006). Consumer demand for counterfeits fashion is argued to be one of the leading causes for the rapid increase of growth (Gentry et al 2001). Consumer perspectives suggest there are two types of counterfeiting, deceptive and non-deceptive. Deceptive is where consumers purchases a product which they are unaware to be counterfeit. Non-deceptive counterfeit is where consumers actively seek to purchase counterfeited goods (Grossman and Shapiro 1998). Turunen and Laaksonen (2011) established that both luxury and counterfeit goods have product centred meanings for purchase. Both purchased for the function and aesthetics, with high quality being excepted for luxury products rather than a questionable quality for counterfeit goods. However consumers are willing to accept a lower level of quality as the price is dramatically decreased, seen as a profitable bargain. Brands which use logos and prints to advertise their status are the ones which are highly counterfeited and sought after by purchasers of counterfeit fashion as they seek approval of others using the logo as a social status (Eisend and SchuchertGuler 2006). Eisend and Schuchert-Guler (2006) believe counterfeits cannot exist without high level brands as the product attributes are easily copied (the logo), whereas the quality of a “luxury brand� is harder to replicate for a lower price.
Fionnuala Bailey The Experience
Overview My prior experiences have made me enthusiastic and ambitious about every aspect of my career. I have been able to develop my professional, articulate and persuasive skills through my retail and degree experiences working with higher levels of management and local communities to gain support. I am passionate and committed to every aspect of work that I take on whether it is big or small my commitment and drive for the job will never differ.
Communication skills Through my retail experience and my education I developed strong communication skills with the confidence to approach and work with a large selection of people. My dissertation has allowed me to strategically communicate research and findings conducted around the consumption of counterfeit fashion. Retail experience has allowed me to use communication skills to build relationships with the consumers and staff something which was awarded in 2009 by Marks and Spencer. Service Award from Mark and Spencer’s.
Group Work skills At university group work was integral to the course, as a result I have become more confident when working with others, able to express my views with ease whilst
helping those who find it more difficult to do so, and I learnt to be assertive when the situation is called for. Skills learnt through retail experiences have allowed me to become adaptable, filling in with any part of the team, which may need extra help. When working with groups you have to be empathetic, my work experience with Special Needs students has allowed me to have a varied approach of communication skills. St Bede’s Inter-Church School – lesson support and Special Needs Development activities during school. St Albans Primary School – lesson support with reading and math’s
Self-Management skills Self-management is a vital part of university education; I have successful been able to manage my work load making sure that all work is finished ahead of time and when support has been needed to contact the appropriate source. When working with Special Needs students one needs to be able to manage several tasks providing support, building relationships so they feel comfortable whilst teaching ways to express themselves. This has allowed me to become more confident.
Flexibility and Responsiveness skills When working in retail one was expected to work on general sales as well as one to one sales for customers’ orders at Next and sales and lingerie fittings at Marks and Spencer. This ability to effectively work with different groups of people will allow me to develop through any part of a business confidently. Working for Headline Teachers taught me how to cope positively with uncertainty and unexpected situations as I was placed in new environments daily having to quickly learn their educational and managerial process whilst adapting to any role I was expected to take part in.
Organising and Managing skills Holding down two jobs whilst carrying work experience, has allowed me to successfully manage time. This has become essential throughout my university work, having large group work projects as well as a dissertation has taught me how to stay focused and take accountability for every action I make. Conducting research for my dissertation has allowed me to evaluate the outcome of my own work whilst suggesting improvements for future research. Looking after Special Needs students has taught me to identify realistic targets of completion, taking accountability for the student under my care. This skill is essential when working for any business, showing confidence within you as well as creating uniformity amongst colleges leading to a well-structured internal brand.
Leadership and Influence skills I have productively been able to inspire and motivate others to work through all aspects of my work and education experiences. My work with Special Needs students has allowed me to develop skills needed to empower people that believe they are not capable, by showing them new techniques of work which they are able to understand as well as providing support and building confidence, allowing them to grow. Through my retail career I have taken on responsibilities from the start becoming night supervisor at 16 for the Stock Shop through to cashing up and banking at Marks and Spencer at 17. Taking a leadership role for the consultancy project for Biddle Sawyer allowed me to demonstrate the techniques learnt to motivate and encourage the group to come up with an innovative and interesting creative campaign.
Fionnuala Bailey The Motivation
Inspirational quotes
"Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind" – Walter Landor "The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it but that it is too low and we reach it."– Michelangelo "To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful."– Edward R. Murrow "You don't have to change much to change everything." – Mark Rosewater "What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do."– John Ruskin "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."– Albert Einstein
Fionnuala Bailey Team Player
Keith Mitchel – Web Designer Working with Fionnuala in designing and creating a webpage for her portfolio has been most insightful and enjoyable. She not only had wonderful creative ideas, she taught about the impact of QR codes for websites and spoke about innovative marketing with such a passion it drove me to research how much impact digital media really has on society. Fionnuala is a joy to work with, with no task being too much. She is willing to help and understanding of situations that occur. No matter how stressed or how much work she may have had she always turned up with a smile willing to work her hardest until the task was completed. I have very enjoyed our time working together for this project and wish her the greatest success in the future and I am certain she will have an amazing and well deserving career.
Fionnuala Bailey Innovation is key for success
www.fionnualabailey.co.uk
References The details Aage, T., & Belussi, F. (2008). From Fashion to Design: Creative Networks in Industrial Districts. Industry and Innovation, 15(5), pp.475-491. Brown, M. et al. (2003), “Buying or browsing? An exploration of shopping orientations and online purchase intention”, European Journal of Marketing, 37 (11), pp.1666-84. Chadha, R and Husband,P (2006). The cult of the Luxury Brand. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. pp.145-198. Davis, L. (1985), “Sex, gender identity, and behaviour concerning sex-related clothing”, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 3 (2), pp.20-4. Eisend, M and Schuchert-Guler. (2006). Explaining counterfeit purchase: a review and preview. Academy of marketing science review. 12 (1), pp.1-26. Fashionising. (2012). Luxury Fashion Advertising. Available: http:// www.fashionising.com./pictures/fashion-advertising. Last accessed 5th Mar 2012. Fionda, A. and Moore, C. (2009), “The anatomy of the luxury fashion brand”, Journal of Brand Management. 16 (5), pp.347-63. Huang, Y. et al. (2011). Decision making in online auctions. Management Decision. 49 (5), pp.784-800. Husic, M and Cicic , M. (2008). Luxury consumption factors. School of economics and business. 13 (2), pp.231-245. Kapferer, J., & Bastien, V. (2009). The luxury strategy: Break the rules of marketing to build luxury brands. London: KoganPage. Josiam, B. et al. (2005), “Involvement and the tourist shopper: using the involvement construct to segment the American tourist shopper at the mall”, Journal of Vacation Marketing, 11(2), pp.135-154. Moore, C and Birtwistle, G. (2005). The nature of parenting advantage in luxury fashion retailing - the case of Gucci group NV. International Journal of retailing and distribution management. 33 (4).
Perez, M. et al. (2010). Constructing identity through the consumption of counterfeit luxury goods. Qualitative market research: An international journal. 13 (3), pp.219-235. Phau, I and Prendergast, G . (2001). Profiling brand-piracy-prone consumers: an exploratory study in Hong Kong's clothing industry. Journal of fashion marketing and management. 5 (1), pp.45-55. Portas, M. (2011). About Mary. Available: http://www.maryportas.com/mary/. Last accessed 4TH Mar 2012. Smith, B. et al (2007) Customer value creation: a practical framework. J Mark Theory Pract. 15, pp.7–23. TrendLand. (2012). 2012 Trends. Available: http://trendland.com/?s=louis+vuitton&x=14&y=16. Last accessed 5th Mar 2012. Turunen, L and Laaksonen, P. (2011). Diffusing the boundaries between luxury and counterfeits. Journal of product and brand management. 20 (6), pp.468-474. Twitchel, J. (2001). Living it up: Our love affair with luxury, Columbia University Press, New York, NY. Vigneron, F. and Johnson, L. (2004), “Measuring perceptions of brand luxury”, Journal of Brand Management. 11(6), pp.484-506. Workman, J.E. and Kidd, L.K. (2000), “Use of the need for uniqueness scale to characterize fashion consumer groups”, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 18(4), pp.227-36.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.� - Ralph Waldo Emerson